Delivery Firms Big Winners In Quarantine

While many businesses closed shop and bled red ink during the lockdown, delivery service providers flourished.

- Emmie V. Abadilla

Everyone sheltering at home needed basic commodities, from food, medicine, hygiene products, clothing, housewares, accessories, hardware, appliances, gadgets, electronic equipment and accessories to pet food and veterinary supplies.

The need surged as the most vulnerable — people under 20 years old and senior citizens 60 years old and above, as well as those with pre-existing health conditions, were prohibited from going out. Add to that, employees worked from home and students took their classes online.

At the peak of the lockdown, only the trucks, vans and motorbikes of delivery providers were visible, out on the streets.

While the safest way to transact business in the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic was via contactless buying and selling merchandise online, deliveries in person still accounted for the last mile.

And so, on-demand delivery services boomed.

GrabExpress delivered parcels on- demand, with real-time tracking — the parcel is picked up immediately and delivered straight to the recipient.

Notably, when the country went into extended lockdown, 4,000 driver- partners of its parent, ride-hailing firm, Grab, transitioned to its delivery fleet as an alternative livelihood source.